Visitors in for a treat: Male hyena to be introduced at Delhi Zoo soon

After a year’s wait, the National Zoological Park in Delhi is set to receive a male hyena on its premises by the end of March. 

According to a senior zoo official, the male hyena is set to arrive from the Kanan Pendari Zoological Park in Bilaspur. 

“They had a surplus of hyenas in their zoo so it was only logical for them to send us one. We had placed a request some time ago,” he said. 

The male hyena is set to join the two females in their enclosure. The latter set of hyenas have been in the company of each other since 2022. 

The official said that the zoo had always had a male hyena on its premises. 

“However, since 2022, there has been no male hyena,” he said. 

The arrival of the male hyena will present a possibility of breeding to the two dominant female hyenas. The dominatrix duo have been in the company of each other for long, however, the subservient male is set to be introduced to enable breeding. 

The zoo official stated that they try to pair two animals together to enable their companionship. 

“For the two female hyenas, one male is enough since they are mostly subservient. Speaking about their need for a ‘social group’, female hyenas do not need males,” he added. 

He further added that breeding and the reproduction of offspring is difficult in the setting of a zoo. 

He stated, “There is a reason why the Indian elephant duo — one male and one female — have not given birth to any offspring since the 1980s. These animals thrive in the wild and breeding can only happen in the wild. However, there have been rare instances of successful breeding here as well.”

Alongside the hyena, the zoo is also set to receive a four-horned antelope from the same Bilaspur zoo. 

Earlier in February, the zoo had initiated the transfer of a male rhinoceros from Guwahati to breed with a pair of two females. 

However, the request for a female African Elephant to give company to its male counterpart remains unheeded.